What is the appeal of off-roading?

[supaDean]

At first blush off-roading appears to be a guaranteed way to damage a vehicle and spends lots of money on repairs. To someone like myself who is completely uneducated with no experience in real off-roading, what is the appeal? Is it simply being able to drive where most vehicles can't? This isn't meant to offend; I'm simply educating myself.

P.S.... Being in Northern Ontario I appreciate access to nature and exploring / camping. I guess that's what is called overlanding.

What I'm referring to are the folks going out as a group in their new expensive vehicles for a day and tackling rocks, mud etc. Every single video I've seen their vehicles are bottoming out on rocks, getting scratched etc, with repairs obviously required.

I can see tackling rough terrain being a lot of fun but thought I'd see what those with experience would like to share.

Cheers.

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[RHeinz]

The solitude of a remote campsite?

 

[Calm horse]

Wow...great question! You're gonna get tons of different answers...
For me it's a number of things.
Coming from having multiples of motocross bikes and atvs my whole life...I just love being out in the woods tackling different terrain, getting from point A to point B the fastest I can or just successfully completing difficult terrain.
2nd..Nature! Need I say more.
America has got to be the most beautiful country when it comes to diversity..beaches, mountains, deserts, swamps, dunes, plains..you get the point...alot of this is not accessible by your average vehicle.
So many different types of offroading for whatever your comfort level is. Some folks will absolutely beat the living shit out of their 4x4 and have a blast doing it and they probably enjoy fixing them just as much as they drive them..(not me)..
Now that I'm getting older the dirt bikes and atvs are starting to hurt my body alot more, the Bronco is my way of keeping me out there a while longer...I look forward to reading everyone else's thoughts on what offroading is to them! Cheers

 

[V1Rotate]

It’s kind of like having to explain to someone why having sex is fun…. Gotta get out and try it for yourself and once you get dirty you’ll see what the hype is about. If your priorities are a pristine vehicle and zero money spent… go find a different hobby.
That said the majority of us didn’t start off-roading with the invention of the modern 6th gen Bronco.. it’s really more of a lifestyle that started very early. Passing it onto my 3 kids as we speak..

 

[rdg04578]

I could answer it this way--what is the appeal of driving on a paved road? Hard for me to see the fun in sitting in traffic, not wondering if you can make it through that mud hole or where that road goes. In northern Maine there is more dirt than paved roads and I am contemplating moving from a Jeep Rubicon to a Bronco but do wonder about the long term durability since I spend the majority of my time off road-- my 13 Rubicon has 60000 miles on it with about 40,000 of it off road-- and about 1/2 of that in 4WD.
Take a few off road trips and I am sure quickly you will understand

 

[Motoxslow]

Wow...great question! You're gonna get tons of different answers...
For me it's a number of things.
Coming from having multiples of motocross bikes and atvs my whole life...I just love being out in the woods tackling different terrain, getting from point A to point B the fastest I can or just successfully completing difficult terrain.
2nd..Nature! Need I say more.
America has got to be the most beautiful country when it comes to diversity..beaches, mountains, deserts, swamps, dunes, plains..you get the point...alot of this is not accessible by your average vehicle.
So many different types of offroading for whatever your comfort level is. Some folks will absolutely beat the living shit out of their 4x4 and have a blast doing it and they probably enjoy fixing them just as much as they drive them..(not me)..
Now that I'm getting older the dirt bikes and atvs are starting to hurt my body alot more, the Bronco is my way of keeping me out there a while longer...I look forward to reading everyone else's thoughts on what offroading is to them! Cheers

You nailed it, mirrors my experience as well. I would only add that some of us live in areas that require a UTE / off-roading to get home. I live in a valley with a man made lake with limited access. Sometime Mother Nature turns nasty and it’s an adventurous ride fording the flooded roads if not too deep, otherwise it’s thru the woods and Amish roads to get back to tarmac.

 

[RallyGorgo]

Like Calm horse said, the Bronco is a nice way to experience our BEAUTIFUL country, see place that many others never will, and be able to do it in comfort (rather than beating the crap out of our bodies on dirt bikes). I rode a “plated” Honda XR600R on dualsport rides for a while and am now looking forward to similar outings in my Badlands. I first bought a 2006 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (trying to sell it but, because it’s not perfect, the LJ price premium is a bit of a myth…) to try off-roading and it absolutely amazed me with its capability! I may keep it to have something for more extreme off-roading. But the Bronco is WAY more civilized than the Wrangler!! And, because my wife has a much easier time climbing into the Bronco, I really want it to be our vehicle of choice for the retirement adventures we want to start taking next year!

Basically, for me, the Bronco is a tool that will allow me to travel to more places that paved roads don’t go to. There is a real beauty in nature that enriches my life, humbles me every time I get reminded how small and insignificant my effect is on the world, and blessed that I can see beyond what man has “created”.

 

[Newbie]

To someone like myself who is completely uneducated with no experience in real off-roading, what is the appeal?

The excitement:

 

[Black_Stallion13]

At first blush off-roading appears to be a guaranteed way to damage a vehicle and spends lots of money on repairs. To someone like myself who is completely uneducated with no experience in real off-roading, what is the appeal? Is it simply being able to drive where most vehicles can't? This isn't meant to offend; I'm simply educating myself. Cheers.

It’s very fun but you basically have the ultimate assessment correct - break stuff and spend money. Which is why if you’re gonna do it my advice is to buy a side by side for $20k or less and keep your $45,000+ vehicle in good shape. IMO, SXS vastly more fun off-road vs. a big heavy standard vehicle anyways in almost every situation. When you go to sell them nobody wants a modded out beat up vehicle. People expect it for a SXS.

 

[MyATV]

Have you tried off-roading in your Bronco Sport...?

 

[Draughon]

That spirit of adventure?

For me it's not even the camping or overlanding aspect (maybe one day in the future) - it's just the excitement of seeing things and places that most people can't.

Plus how many places in modern society are truly quiet? Once you get off the paved roads back in some national park or forest - there's no car sounds, no electrical lines, in some places not even planes flying over head and you're struck by this incredible sense of peace.

(at least for me)

For example, I regularly cave dive - I get to see ice age bones and evidence of human activity deep underground in a flooded cave that maybe only a couple of hundred people have seen in the world. That's pretty effing cool.

(pic for attention)

 

[BigFootie]

Have you tried off-roading in your Bronco Sport...?

I have! The Badlands Sport is actually pretty good off road if you don’t mind a little rubbing on the bottom. She doesn’t have the longest legs but she gets around pretty good!

Back to the original question, I grew up on off road motorcycles and 4x4’s off road. Hard to explain the enjoyment. I’d spend hours working hill climbs. Always a sense of accomplishment. Same for trails and obstacles.

 

[rdg04578]

It’s very fun but you basically have the ultimate assessment correct - break stuff and spend money. Which is why if you’re gonna do it my advice is to buy a side by side for $20k or less and keep your $45,000+ vehicle in good shape. IMO, SXS vastly more fun off-road vs. a big heavy standard vehicle anyways in almost every situation. When you go to sell them nobody wants a modded out beat up vehicle. People expect it for a SXS.

Believe it or not a fully decked out 4 passenger side by side is closer to 50K these days. The price of mid range machine with a cab and heat is closer to 25K to 30K. Hard to believe but that's the going rate-- hence why Broncos/Jeeps are a good option and really not that much more money-- and they are street legal everywhere as opposed to designated areas.

 

[grayshadow]

Because you have to leave the pavement for this scenery, peace and tranquility.

 

[msujay2012]

It's fun. And stuff.

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